Because I Love You
by amber24-03
Summary: Jayton - It's an episode tag to "The Leaving Song". Please Read and Review!


Yeah, this is a little something Jayton because obviously, we won't be getting that for a while. But I'll continue to be optimistic! Anyways, hope you like. And shameless plug. If you wanna come join an awesome OTH message board, the addy will be posted below. And please post when you join. Right now, we have a few members but really only 4 ppl that post. We'd love to have more ppl to talk to!! Anyways, hope you like the story!

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Because I Love You

The small boat surged forward while he stood at its bow, keeping his gaze locked on the depleting figure who continued to stand on the docks, her hand in the air as she waved him off. Jake looked down on the now sleeping figure, his arms wrapped protectively around her. He knew he was doing the right thing by leaving. It was in Jenny's best interests, and she was supposed to come before everything else. But he hadn't expected it to be this hard. He couldn't continue to let Nicki torture his family and friends. But what was it that made him think that by leaving he could stop that?

"What's on your mind?" Larry's coaxing voice pulled Jake from his reverie. "Or shall I say who?" a knowing grin curled his lips. Jake didn't want to leave Peyton. That had been apparent to him at the docks.

Jake shook his head, glancing down at his daughter. "It's nothing." he lied, but looked over to see that Larry hadn't bought it. It was obvious even to Jake that his lie hadn't been very convincing. "It's just that I hate the thought of leaving the only place I've ever known. This was not how I wanted to end things. I'm not a runner, but what else can I do?"

A comforting hand came to rest on Jake's shoulder and he smiled sadly at the man, who, if they were meeting under different circumstances, he would have been terrified of opening up to. "It's going to be hard. I'm not going to lie to you, Jake, but you are a strong man. You've made it through so much already. You'll be able to make it through this too."

Jake looked at Larry for a moment before opening his mouth to speak, "How do you do it?" he asked, his gaze still concentrating on the figure beside him. "It must kill you to leave Peyton for days on end." he paused, taking in a deep breath. "Just thinking about how long I could be away from her kills me." Jake admitted, blushing at the slight over share he had just given Peyton's father. He had all but just blatantly stated that he had feelings for his daughter. His hesitant gaze slowly met Larry's for a second time. What would he say about that?

"You really care about Peyton, don't you?" Larry asked and Jake nodded, knowing that Larry wouldn't have fallen for it if he had lied anyway. Watching the young boy beside him, Larry hesitated for a moment before digging deep into his pocket for his cell phone. "Here," he handed the phone over to Jake, his hypnotizing gaze falling on it in confusion. "Call her." Larry stated and Jake immediately began to shake head. "Jake, call her. She's probably home by now."

Slowly he took the phone from Larry, sighing in defeat. Dialing in her number, Jake felt the knots began to churn with each passing ring. He shouldn't have been so nervous. Jake had called Peyton a number of times, but it was usually only to ask for a sitter. At least that was his cover story. Now what would it be?

It hadn't taken Peyton long to answer the phone. Instinctively, Jake smiled at the immediate sound of her voice. It was almost as if he were sitting in his living room right now about to ask her to sit for him yet again, already knowing that Peyton loved Jenny and would have agreed in a heartbeat. "Peyton? Hey, it's me." It wasn't until he actually listened that he realized she had been crying. "Peyton, what's wrong? Are you crying?" It was a stupid question, Jake knew that, but he needed to be sure that it wasn't something else.

Through the phone, Jake could sense her wiping her tears and mentally preparing herself to be strong. It wasn't until her obviously forced laugh that he realized he was correct. "I'll be fine, Jake. What's up?" she asked in her normal, breezy tone, which only served as to worry Jake more.

For the first time since he had dialed in Peyton's number, Jake looked up to see that Larry was still standing beside him. It was weird how his image had melted away when he heard her voice. Suddenly becoming all too uncomfortable around Larry, Jake began to walk away from him, partly expecting Larry to follow, but pleased to see that he didn't. "I just wanted to talk to you; to hear your voice, I guess." he laughed at himself. "I can't stop thinking about that kiss, Peyton."

"Jake," she said, clearly amused by his statement. "You haven't even been gone for ten minutes and you are already calling. How are you going to survive?" she laughed and Jake mentally noted that it was a real one. For that, he laughed too.

"I know, but it's hard. Out of everyone in Tree Hill, I'm going to miss you the most, Peyton. And Jenny will miss you too."

When silence fell between them, Jake was left wondering if he had said something wrong. It was clear to him that Peyton was upset again. He could hear her crying on the other end as her weak attempts to stay strong failed. It was killing him too, but as he listened to her sniffles over the phone line, his worry laid purely on her. She was his best friend. All he wanted for her was happiness. She wasn't getting that now.

"Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll miss you too."

Their conversation ended shortly after, neither having much to say, both unwilling to say what they really wanted to. As he walked back toward Larry, who still stood in the same spot as when Jake had first left, Jake felt a growing sense of dread for what he was about to do. Why did he ever think that leaving Tree Hill could solve something? Deep down, Jake knew that it never could.

"Is she okay?" Larry finally spoke up after moments of silence, both staring down into the clear waters below them. When all he got was a confused look from the boy beside him, Larry decided to clarify. There must have been a lot on his mind. He didn't think his question was that hard to understand. "Peyton? Is she okay about everything?"

"She says she is." Jake said, running a hand through his hair while the other still wrapped around Jenny. He glanced down at her to find that she was still fast asleep, her tiny head resting light against his chest. Jake smiled at the sight and began to wonder just how Jenny would like living without Peyton. He knew that she was still too young to remember that she had once been in her life, but anyone could have seen how much Jenny loved Peyton now. She was sure to miss her for a while. Did he really want to do that to her?

"I can't do this." Jake finally said, his eyebrows furrowing as he continued to focus on the water. "We've got to go back. I can't leave; not now." he said quickly, finally looking up at Larry. "Can we go back? Can you turn this boat around? I wanna go back." his rushed tone gave Larry an insight to what he must have been feeling. Larry knew why he wanted to go back. He knew why it was so hard for him to leave, and although he wasn't keen on the fact that his little girl was going up, he wasn't going to stand in their way either.

"Okay," Larry nodded, rushing to the helm. In one swift motion, he grabbed the steering wheel, and the boat began to turn. It was a slow turn that became even slower in Jake's eyes. He knew he needed to go back. He needed to talk to Peyton; to say all the things that they left unsaid. And that kiss, Jake thought. It needed to be better.

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Peyton was shocked when she opened the door to see that Jake was now standing opposite her. "What are you doing here?" was all she could say while she blinked slowly, wanting to make sure that this all wasn't a dream. Jake was risking everything just to come back to her? Could this all be real?

Taking in the weird expression that graced her beautiful features, Jake couldn't help but laugh at the sight. Even when she was in complete and utter shock and making facial expressions that he was sure no one else would be able to, Peyton was beautiful. "You know, I was thinking," he began playfully. "That kiss?" he paused for suspense, noticing the growing smile on Peyton's face. "Not good enough." Before Peyton had a chance to reply, Jake cupped her face in his hands, sending his lips crashing down onto hers.

As they kissed, Peyton's head reeled. She had wanted this for a while now, but too scared to admit that to even herself. It wasn't until his lips found hers that she realized that Jake was the man that she wanted. For so long, she daydreamed about Luke, but who was she kidding? Lucas and her didn't mesh. There were always problems and Jake was always the one she went to in order to escape them.

"So you came here to do that?" Peyton asked when the finally pulled apart "Now what?" Jake laid a tiny kiss on her lips.

He smiled. "We get ready for one hell of a court battle."

Peyton looked on in concern. "But you said it yourself, Jake. Your parents can't afford to pay for this going to court."

"So I'll take up more hours at Karen's. I don't have basketball to keep me busy anymore. Maybe I'll go back to it when all of this is over, but right now all I'm concerned with is how to keep my daughter from Nicki without leaving." Jake cupped Peyton's face in his hands once more, brushing her curls back with his fingers. "I'm not leaving, Peyton. I can't."

"Why?" she asked, laying a tiny kiss on Jenny's forehead before focusing her gaze back on Jake.

"What?"

"Why can't you leave?" her penetrating gaze concentrated on him even more, her eyebrows furrowing, showing the curiosity that she felt. Jake had come back for her. Did that mean that she was the biggest reason for why he couldn't leave?

Jake smiled, kissing her again, and Peyton laughed as they pulled apart. They had kissed a lot in the passed couple of minutes, but in his eyes, Jake was only making up for lost time. Kissing her was something he had openly thought about for a while now. He loved watching her with Jenny. Finally, as he looked at her now, her eyes bright in the sunlight, it didn't seem so hard to say what he truly wanted to. The seriousness of his words would echo in her head. "Because I love you."

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